Robert Bike

Freeport's mayor, Jim Gitz, is an old friend and classmate.

Photo of Jim stolen from his website!

Freeport City Hall

The architect wanted to put his name on the building, but the city fathers objected. So the architect put the names of famous people at the top, people whose first letter of their last names, coincidentally, spelled out his name!

The 'new' gym at Freeport High School.

The old gym and the tower at Freeport High School.

The old Stephenson Hotel. The banner celebrates the Freeport Doctrine from the Lincoln-Douglas debate of 1858. Quiz: What is the Freeport Doctrine?

Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas held a series of seven debates in their run for the United States Senate. In their second debate, held in Freeport on August 27, 1858, Lincoln asked Douglas which was more binding, popular sovereignty or a recent decision of the United States Supreme Court against it. Douglas chose popular sovereignty: a territory had the right to govern itself with or without slavery.

The Freeport Doctrine won Douglas the senatorial seat, but his answer split the Democratic party and enabled Lincoln to win the presidency in 1860.

My sister Claudia Painter & the tower of plates at the old Little's China Shop.

The corner of Walnut & Main. The Walnut Hill Liquor Store. The old Freeport Hotel is the big building on the right. The historic Raleigh building is in the distance.

The dam at Krape Park.

The duck pond at Krape Park.

The waterfall & Yellow Creek at Krape Park.

The totem pole at Krape Park.

Twin Caves and Yellow Creek at Krape Park.

The 'new' Stephenson County Court House and the Civil War Memorial.

The sanctuary at St. John United Church of Christ.

St. John United Church of Christ Mission statement: Bringing the Healing Love of Christ to Our Community for the Glory of God.

Memorial to those who served in the Civil War from Stephenson County.

Friends of mine who died during the Vietnam War:
Don Keep & Jerry Jenner
Guys I knew: Barry Armstrong, Bob Bonebright
Relative: Richard Otte

Others from Freeport and Stephenson County who died during the Vietnam war as listed on the memorial are Ronald  Boyer, Douglas Gillette, Emil Handel, Paul Hudson, Dale Koertner, Dave Krueger, Larry Mack, Stephen Osran, Franklin Picking, Jerry Pool, Richard Reed, Ronald Schurch, Louie Shianna, Fred Welker, and Willie Wright. I have included as much information as I could find about each of these men, including the location of their names on the Vietnam War Memorial.

Doug Hagen, a Pretzel who attended FHS in his sophomore year, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in Vietnam.

My uncle Bob Wienand was killed in action in World War II.

Harry Liggett, Charles McCoy and Fred Wilkins were were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in World War I.

Stephenson County men who died in World War I: Benjamin Elmer Altenbern, Leo Barnds, John S. Bennehoff, Clarence Milford Best, Herbert Frederick Biersach, Charles Edward Borgmeier, Edward A. Carbiener, Luther B. Cazel, Theodore Frederick Demeter, Eugene Francis Egan, Elmo K. Eson, Joseph C. Farrow, Elmer Edward Fischer, Kryle Fuller, Walter Enoch Furen, Dr. Orlando M. Gochnaur, William Mathew Grant, Lewis Donald Gray, Edward Griffin, Edward Hogan, William Lloyd Horstmeier, Edward Arthur Hughes, Charles Edward Inman, Elso Sikko Johnson, Louis Edwin Johnson, Grover H. Koeller, Ewart Kline, Raymond Julius Kuhlemeier, Glen Howard Kuntz, Robert R. Langenstein, Philip Link, Donald Lynch, Robert Roland McKibben, John Messang, John Miller, Harry E. Meysembourg, Carl E. Mishler, Rev. Arthur Francis Moseley, August A. Odermatt, Lynn Peters, Wilbur Thomas Rawleigh, Oscar Andrew Sandrock, William Frederick Seyfarth, A. Vernon Sheetz, James Marsh Sprague, Carl Ralph Stewart, John G. Ulrich, William VanDeest, Russell J. Wheeland, and Frederick C. Yde.

John Scofield was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Civil War.

Andrew Lancaster and Neil Petsche died in the Iraq War.

Norman Cain was killed in the Afghanistan War.

If you have more information about any of these men, please email me at . Send photos, stories about them, any information you would like included.

Vietnam War Deaths
Stephenson County

Richard Otte

Dick Otte portrait in his mother's home in Freeport.

My mother, Anna Otte, with Dick's mother, Ida Otte, at Ida's home.

PFC Richard Lee Otte was a PFC - E2 in the Marine Corps.

Richard Otte was killed by "friendly fire" on December 15, 1966 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam. He was only 23.

His name is on Panel 13E, Line 48.

Barry Armstrong

CPL Barry Lee Armstrong died on February 2, 1970 in Binh Thuan, South Vietnam. He was killed in action while serving with the First Cavalry Division (Air Mobile). An army corporal, he was only 19.

Click on photo to enlarge the clipping. Thanks to Jim Mertins for the clipping that appeared in the February 5, 1970 issue of the Freeport Journal-Standard, and the Life Magazine photos, below.

The November 1992 issue of Life Magazine ran a feature article on the Vietnam Memorial, and in the main photo in the center of the magazine is the section of the wall that has Barry's name on it. His name is on Panel 14W, Line 92.

Click on photos to enlarge. Barry Armstrong is listed at the center of the photo, next to the woman's hand.

"I got goosebumps when I looked at your memorial page. I used to babysit for Barry Armstrong, and I have the rubbing from his panel when I went to DC. I have a great appreciation for this memorial you've created. Thank you so much."—Sherry Maves

Robert Bonebright

Robert Allen Bonebright was a Marine Corps Sergeant. He died from non-hostile fire at age 25 on May 18, 1969 over Thua Thien, South Vietnam.

A Marine KC-130 with Bob aboard was refueling two F-4B jets just south of the DMZ. As the three aircraft flew in formation, with the Phantoms plugged in and taking fuel, a third F-4B collided with the C-130's right wing near the #3 engine. The collision destroyed the F-4B, sheared the wing from the C-130, and damaged one F-4B refueling from the right side. The F-4B on the left escaped without damage. The F-4B on the right crashed, but the two crewmen were rescued.

All six men aboard the C-130, including Bob, and the two crewmen aboard the F-4B that crashed into them were killed in the accident.

His name is on Panel 24W, Line 37.

Ronald Boyer

Ronald Ernest Boyer was a PFC in the army from Lena. Ronald Boyer was killed in action on February 9, 1969, in Quang Nam Province. He was stationed with the 196th Infantry Brigade. He died from hostile fire at age 21.

His name is on Panel 33W, Line 091.

Douglas Gillette

Douglas Gillette died in a drowning accident June 30, 1968, in the Mosel River near Zell, Germany. He was stationed with the United States Air Force at Hahn Air Force Base in Frankfurt.

Doug Hagen

Loren "Festus" Douglas Hagen was killed in action in Vietnam on August 7, 1971. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery during the firefight that killed him.

Doug Hagen in Vietnam

The citation given to his parents by President Ford reads, "1st Lt. Hagen distinguished himself in action while serving as the team leader of a small reconnaissance team operating deep within enemy-held territory.

"At approximately 0630 hours on the morning of 7 August 1971 the small team came under a fierce assault by a superior-sized enemy force using heavy small arms, automatic weapons, mortar, and rocket fire.

"1st Lt. Hagen immediately began returning small-arms fire upon the attackers and successfully led this team in repelling the first enemy onslaught. He then quickly deployed his men into more strategic defense locations before the enemy struck again in an attempt to overrun and annihilate the beleaguered team's members. 1st Lt. Hagen repeatedly exposed himself to the enemy fire directed at him as he constantly moved about the team's perimeter, directing fire, rallying the members, and resupplying the team with ammunition, while courageously returning small arms and hand grenade fire in a valorous attempt to repel the advancing enemy force.

"The courageous actions and expert leadership abilities of 1st Lt. Hagen were a great source of inspiration and instilled confidence in the team members.

"After observing an enemy rocket make a direct hit on and destroy one of the team's bunkers, 1st Lt. Hagen moved toward the wrecked bunker in search of team members despite the fact that the enemy force now controlled the bunker area.

"With total disregard for his own personal safety, he crawled through the enemy fire while returning small-arms fire upon the enemy force. Undaunted by the enemy rockets and grenades impacting all around him, 1st Lt. Hagen desperately advanced upon the destroyed bunker until he was fatally wounded by enemy small arms and automatic weapons fire.

"With complete disregard for his personal safety, 1st Lt. Hagen's courageous gallantry, extraordinary heroism, and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty, at the cost of his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon him and the U.S. Army."

The Medal of Honor

Doug attended Freeport High School as a sophomore. He moved from South Junior High School in Moorhead, Minnesota. His parents moved to Decatur where he graduated in 1964 from McArthur High School. He graduated from North Dakota State University in 1968.

Here is a link to Doug's page on Wikipedia.

Doug served in the Special Forces of the Army with a Studies & Observations Group (SOG). The SOG was a top-secret organization assigned to conduct covert missions behind enemy lines in Laos, Cambodia and North Vietnam. By 1971, the SOG was used to cover the U.S. withdrawal.

In July of 1971, intelligence reported that a large enemy force was moving south. The North Vietnamese Army (NVA) used the narrow 25-mile long A Shau Valley to move troops and supplies south toward Hue, Danang and Phu Bai, home of large American ground units. The 304th NVA Division had about 1500 soldiers at a staging area in the northern part of the A Shau Valley, known as Base Area 611.

Doug was a Recon Team leader of a 14-man special reconnaissance unit, RT Kansas, manned by six Green Berets and eight highly trained Montagnard commandos from Task Force One Advisory Element. His team had landed in the A Shau Valley of western Thua Thien Province and secured their position for the overnight mission almost within sight of the six-inch fuel pipeline the Hanoi High Command had laid across the Vietnamese De-Militarized Zone.

The team had taken up a position on a small hill and spent the night, receiving probing activities during the night. As dawn approached, trucks began to arrive filled with NVA. RT Kansas was equipped with only what they had on their backs, CAR 15's, grenade launchers and one M-60 machine gun. All 1500 enemy soldiers attacked their position at dawn on August 7, 1971. At a mismatch seven times greater than the Alamo, it was the most one-sided battle of the Vietnam War.

Doug led his recon team's defense, and when USASF Sgt. Bruce Allen Berg, 21, of Olympia, Washington, was hit by a rocket in one of the team's bunkers, Doug crawled towards Berg's position through heavy fire in an attempt to assist Berg, returning fire as he proceeded. Doug was killed searching for Berg.

Air support arrived, and the dead and wounded were evacuated. Three Americans and three Montagnard's were killed, along with 185 confirmed NVA. SSG Oran L. Bingham of Salt Lake City, Utah, was the third American killed that morning. Berg's body was never found. The combat action in which Doug was killed is described in the last chapter of John L. Plaster's book SOG: The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam (1997 Simon & Schuster).

Doug was only 25 at his death. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Fargo, North Dakota, has a Veteran's Memorial dedicated to Doug. Moorhead, Minnesota, was discussing naming a school after him.

Doug, Berg and Bingam are memorialized together on the Vietnam War Memorial Wall on Panel 03W, Line 125.

Emil Handel

Emil Handel was killed August 25, 1970, in Bangkok, Thailand. He was a passenger in a bus which was struck by a train. He had been serving with the Strategic Air Command in Michigan before going to Thailand.

Paul Hudson

Paul Hudson was a fireman serving aboard the U.S.S. Essex, a US Navy Aircraft Carrier, when he was electrocuted while working on April 16, 1964.

Jerry Jenner

Jerry was killed in a car accident while home on leave before being sent to Vietnam. He died October 7, 1968. He had been stationed at Ft. Hood, Texas.

I graduated from Freeport High School in 1966 with Jerry. I knew him since grade school.

Donald Keep

Don in combat gear.


Don, center, in sweltering Vietnam.
(Photos courtesy Don's nephew, Clifford Keep, Jr.)

Dale Koertner

Dale Koertner, a Navy Seabee, died March 27, 1968. He was killed while at work at Virginia Beach, VA. He apparently fell from a boat into a barge-like section of an amphibious landing construction. Dale graduated from FHS in 1965.

Dave Krueger

David Russel Krueger was a corporal in the army. He was killed in action March 17, 1970, while on a combat mission in Vietnam. He died of wounds received when an enemy booby trap exploded. Dave graduated from FHS in 1965. He was 22.

His name is on Panel 12W, Line 013.

Larry Mack

SP5 Larry Wesley Mack was a Crew Chief / Helicopter Mechanic killed in action while trying to aid a downed aircraft on April 20, 1968, at Binh Dinh, South Vietnam.

He was a Snake Doctor. Some of the helicopter assault teams used the call sign, "Rattler." The maintenance area for these helicopters became known as the Snake Pit, and the mechanics as Snake Doctors. They often flew into combat areas to repair helicopters as needed.

His name is on Panel 51E, Line 9. He was only 23.

Stephen Osran

Stephen Osran died March 16, 1969, at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. He was assigned to Eglin AFB in Ft. Walton Beach, FL. He became seriously ill and died at the hospital. Steve graduated from FHS in 1965.

Franklin Picking

Franklin Picking was an Air Force Major. He was officially listed as missing and probably died on July 23, 1969 at age 38. He was piloting a plane in support of an army division when he was shot down over An Khe, Vietnam. He was an A-1 Skyraider pilot with the 6th Special Operations Squadron assigned to Pleiku Air Base. He was credited with flying 35 missions in the month of May, 1969. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Franklin was the older brother of one of my Class of 1966 classmates, Darius Picking. Darius was serving in the Navy off the coast of Vietnam when his brother died.

Franklin's name is on Panel 20W, Line 036.

Jerry Pool

Jerry Lynn Pool was a Green Beret Special Forces lieutenant. He led a military team sent to Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia, as a U.S. long range reconnaissance patrol to check on enemy activity. Within an hour, his eight-man squad found the enemy, who aggressively chased them for three days. He called in a helicopter to evacuate his team when they came under heavy enemy fire.

The four-man helicopter team picked him up along with his two men and five Montagnard tribesmen. Moments after lifting off, the helicopter was hit by a rocket, exploded, crashed and burned. Because of heavy enemy fire, other helicopters nearby were not able to land and search for survivors. The crash site was about 23 miles southwest of the tri-border junction of Cambodia, Laos and South Vietnam at the bottom of a valley with steep walls.

He was officially listed as missing and probably died on March 24, 1970, at age 23, in Cambodia. The crash site was found on April 12, 1995. He was declared dead on June 20, 2001, although his remains were never individually identified. On August 16, 2001, a group burial was conducted at Arlington National Cemetery for the seven Americans and the five Montagnards.

His name is on Panel 12W, Line 040.

Richard Reed

Sgt. Richard Leon Reed of Rock City was killed in action December 7, 1970, when a booby trap detonated at a Da Nang area base near the DMZ in Quang Ngai Province. Richard took basic training at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky.

Richard was sent to Non-Commissioned Officers School, where he earned the highest marks ever achieved at that time. He then went to Jump School. He was an army sergeant, assigned to Company B, First Battalion, 20th Infantry, 23rd Division (American Division).

Richard Reed was the last Stephenson County soldier to lose his life in the Vietnam War. He was only 21.

His name is on Panel 06W, Line 113.

Ronald Schurch

Ronald Lee Schurch of Orangeville was a Lance Corporal in the Marines. He was killed in action in Thua Thien Province when a land mine exploded. He joined the Marines shortly after graduation. He died from hostile fire on June 26, 1967 at age 20.

His name is on Panel 22E, Line 066.

Louie Shianna

The photos for this memorial to Louie Shianna were sent in by his nephew, Dr. Shawn Shianna of Freeport,"Thank you for putting my uncle on your website. I'm touched."

Louie Shianna	Click on this photo to enlarge it.

Louie John Shianna grew up in Red Oak and graduated from Orangeville High School. He & his wife were residents of Freeport at the time of his service. Louie was an SP4 in the army. He died from hostile fire on April 18, 1969 at age 25.

His name is on Panel 26W, Line 004.

Fred Welker

Fred Welker of rural Lena was killed in an auto accident while on his way home from Texas for a 30-day leave.

Willie Wright

CPL Willie Alfred Wright was killed in action November 6, 1967. He was the recipient of the Silver Star, our third highest award for gallantry, for repeatedly putting himself in danger while pulling wounded comrades from heavy enemy fire. He was on his second tour of duty and had been wounded five times previously. His family had just moved to Stephenson County from Chicago in 1966. He was 29 years old.

His name is on Panel 29E Line 037.

My thanks to family members and friends of Freeport's Vietnam era dead for photos and information. And a special thanks to Class of 1965's Karen Otto Hutmacher for help in researching information on these men. Class of 1964's John Veer alerted me to Medal of Honor winner Doug Hagen.

Iraq War Deaths
Stephenson County

Andrew Lancaster

Sergeant Andrew Wayne Lancaster of Stockton was killed in action in Iraq on August 11, 2007. Lancaster was with the 1st Battalion 30th Infantry Division from Fort Stewart, Georgia.

A sniper in Arab Jabour, Iraq (southeast of Baghdad), killed U.S. soldier PFC William L. Edwards, 23. Lancaster and seven other soldiers rushed the house where the gunman was holed up. One of the soldiers stepped on a buried pressure-triggered bomb at the house. Lancaster and three other soldiers died; four more were wounded in the blast. Killed alongside Lancaster were Army Specialist Justin O. Penrod, 24, of Mahomet, Illinois, Sergeant Scott L. Kirkpatrick, 26, of Reston, Virginia and Staff Sergeant William D. Scates, 31, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Andy Lancaster attended Stockton High School before graduating from Freeport High School in 2002.

He was previously deployed to Afghanistan with the U.S. Army's Elite Squadron, 173rd Airborne Brigade.

He earned a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star, posthumously. House Resolution 704 was read on the Illinois House of Representatives floor honoring Lancaster.

Ft. Stewart honors soldiers from that base who are killed in action. A red bud tree was planted for Lancaster at Warriors Walk among the nearly 400 planted there.

Andrew Lancaster was only 23 years old.

Neil Petsche

Marine Lance Corporal Neil D. Petsche of Lena died while serving in Iraq on December 21, 2004, from injuries received in a non-hostile vehicle incident in Al Anbar Province, Iraq.

Petsche was assigned to 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California.

Neil Petsche was only 21 years old.

Afghanistan War Deaths
Stephenson County

Spc. Norman Cain III, a 2006 graduate of Freeport High School, was killed in action on Sunday, March 15, 2009, in Kot, Nangarhar Province, in eastern Afghanistan. An improvised explosive device (IED) exploded near his vehicle. He was killed instantly.

Cain enlisted in the Illinois National Guard in July 2007 and served in Company D, 1st Battalion, 178th Infantry. This was his first deployment. He arrived in Afghanistan in late October 2008. He was a part of the 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT), providing security for Provincial Reconstruction Teams that are helping the Afghan government build roads, hospitals, government buildings and other infrastructure.

Also killed were two other soldiers from his unit, Sgt. Christopher Abeyta, 23, of Midlothian, and Spc. Robert Weinger, 24, of Round Lake Beach, and Air Force Staff Sgt. Timothy L. Bowles, 24, from Tucson, Arizona. Cain, Abeyta and Weinger were the 9th, 10th and 11th deaths from the Illinois Army National Guard’s 33rd IBCT since their deployment to Afghanistan. Eight of the deaths have occured in 2009. Cain died at the scene, while Abeyta and Weinger were taken to a hospital in Jalabad, Afghanistan, where they died.

Cain was a resident of Mount Morris. He had attended Highland Community College Auto Mechanics School. He is survived by his wife Brigette and his two children, a step-daughter, Fallon Spielman, and a son, Toryn Cain.

Here's a link to a TV news story about his death.

Norman Cain was just 22 years old.

Way back up to the top

The Polaris

Freeport in 1954

Freeport in 2006

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